Police: Woman fights off attacker

A composite sketch of the suspect.

AURORA | Police say a woman with martial arts training fought off a man who broke into her Aurora home and tried to sexually assault her. 

The attack happened around 4 a.m. July 1 inside the woman’s home in northwest Aurora, police said. 

The woman was asleep when the man entered her home by lifting a sliding-glass door from it’s track and attacked her, Aurora police spokesman Detective Bob Friel said. 

Police said the man tried to sexually assault the woman but she was able to fight him off.

“Her effort to fight back changed this situation from a sexual assault to an attempted sexual assault,” Friel said. “She did the right thing in this case, she fought back.”

Investigators on Thursday released a composite sketch of the man and asked the public for help tracking him down. 

The suspect is described as a black male in his 30’s, between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall with a thin build and braided hair. One of the man’s braids appeared to the victim to stick out in an unusual way, police said.

The man also may have been injured when the woman fought back, Friel said. 

Aurora police are offering a reward of up to $5,000 and metro Denver Crime Stoppers is offering up to $2,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect, police said. 

Police are asking anyone with information to call Sex Crimes Detective Lana Maddox at 303-739-6136 or dispatch 303-627-3100.  Callers who wish to remain anonymous can contact Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867) or text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) then title DMCS  before the message.

Last month a burglar broke into a northwest Aurora home early one morning and tried to attack a 4-year-old girl, but police said Thursday they do not believe the incidents, while similar, are connected. Police are working to determine whether the incident is connected to any others in the city and have reached out to Denver police as well because the woman’s home is close to the Denver-Aurora border, Friel said.